Automatic shearing machine



June 15, 1937. c. s. RICHARDSON ET AL 2,084,300

AUTOMATIC SHEARING MACHINE Filed Feb. 9, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet l InventorsC. 9 b W w wfl'orfle y June 15, 1937. c. e. RICHARDSON ET AL 2,084,300

AUTOMATIC SHEARING MACHINE V June 15, 1937. c. G. RICHARDSON ET AL2,034,300

AUTOMATIC SHEARING MACHINE Filed Feb 9, 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 c. G.RICHARDSON ET AL AUTOMATIC SHEARINGMACHINE June 15, 1937.-

6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 9, 1932 June 15, 1937- c. G. RICHARDSON ETAL 2,084,300 r AUTOMATIC SHEARING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb, 9,1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 C. G. RICHARDSON El AL AUTOMATIC SHEARING MACHINEFiled Feb. 9, 1932 f ,J' a

11 z twjkgi wafiorneg June 15, 1937.

Patented June 15, 1937 UNi'iED STATE ns sts j AUTOMATIC SHEARING MACHINECharles G. Richardson and John W. Hogue, Springfield, Vt, assignors toParks & Woolson Machine Company, Springfield, Vt., a corporation ofVermont Application February 9, 1932, Serial No. 591,829

26 Claims.

This invention relates to automatically controlled cloth shearingmachines and is intended to provide controlling means for a cloth shearthat will be thoroughly reliable in action by eliminating danger ofdamage to the cloth through imperfect operation of the control mechanismand at the same time shall permit rapid travel of the cloth through themachine with the shearing action interrupted only for a brief periodsuf- 3U ficient to allow the cloth seam or sewing to pass between theshear blades and the cloth support, these elements being promptly closedafter the seam has passed through.

As those skilled inv the art know, it is customl5, ary when shearing orcropping the face or faces of pieces of cloth to sew a considerablenumber of these pieces end to end in order to avoid threading eachindividual piece into the machine separately. While this practiceshortens the time of cropping a given number of pieces of. cloth,nevertheless it makes necessary the provision of means for opening apartthe shear blades and the cloth supporting rest which constitute theshearing couple. The opening and closing of the eleg5 ments' of eachshearing couple, in case it is a multiple shear, by automatic mechanismenergized by the seam approaching the shearing line as heretoforepracticed, has been subject to much adverse criticism, since failure ofthe apparatus to function properly has often resulted in allowing slubsor knots on the face of the cloth to operate the automatic mechanism,which in many cases would act to close the shearing couple just at thetime that the transverse seam or sewing is closely approaching theshearing line, so that the cloth is badly cut at the seam and in thecase of a multiple machine may-be very badly damaged.

It is the object of the present invention to i .13 eliminate thistrouble in cloth shearing machines by providing a mechanism operating ona principle that will result either in preventing slubs, knots andexcrescences on the face of the cloth from energizing the automaticseam-controlled 13 mechanism, or that, in the possible but'remote lcontingency, the automatic control mechanism shall be set in action byindividual slubs or knots, the shearing couple or couples will be keptopen to permit the near approaching seam that follows from being cut ordamaged by the return or closing movement of the shearing elements.Another feature of the invention consists in providing means by whichthe timing between the opening and the closing of the shearing elements5;; may be so adjusted as to permit the immediate w r- W feelermechanism which energizes the means for opening the shearing elements.These and other features of the present invention will be described inthe following specification and will be defined. in the claims heretoannexed.

In the accompanying drawings we have illustrated a construction andarrangement operatively embodying the various features characterizingthe present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a right hand side elevation ofso much of a cloth shearing machine as may be necessary to understandthe application of the present improvement to a cloth shear, aconsiderable part of the frame work and other mechanism being omitted topermit clearer illustration of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar View of the mehanism for opening the cloth shearingelements for the passage of the seam, the cloth rest being shown innon-active or open position in relation to the shear blades.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail showing in right side elevation thedetector or ieeler mechanism, which energizes the means for opening andrestoring the shearing elements for the passage of. the seams.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the feeler mechanism shown in Fig. 3 inassociation with the mechanism for opening the shearing elements, whichis energized through the medium of the feeler mechanism. I

Fig. 5 is a perspective View in detail showing a part of the feelermechanism that is intended to prevent the opening of the shearingelements by a slub, knot or other isolatedbunch on the face of thecloth.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail showing the constantly rotated sprocket andassociated gearing by which, through the agency of the seam detector,the openingof the shearing elements is effected.

Fig. '7 is a front elevation of the seam-conledger blade l .pivotally'mountedon shafts 3 inverted cloth Tests 3, in this caseof the gap ortrough type, over which the cloth is stretched when passing of a turnbuckle 5 feeler fingers are mounted in the same plane transversely ofthe travel of the cloth.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the modification shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 illustrates another modified form of selective feeler.

Fig. 13 shows a perspective view. of the modified form shown in'Fig.1'2.

In the practice of the invention according to the form illustrated inthe drawings, the mechanism may be applied to any well known type ofshearing machine. In this case we have shown it applied to a multipleblade shearing machine provided with shearing elements arranged to cropor shear opposite faces of the cloth. In the type of machineillustrated, suitably mounted in the forward portion above the mainframe A of the machine are two revolvers or rotary fly blades I carriedby their respective shafts l and associated in each case with the usualrelatively fixed Above each pair of blades are by the shearing lineformed between itself and each pair of blades I and l The cloth restsare fulcrumed on transverse shafts 3 which are oscillated by rocker arms31, 3, which are interconnected with each other by means of a connectinglink 5 which is made extensible by means The rearmost shearing couple inthis machine comprises the fiy blade 2 and its relatively fixedassociated ledger blade 2 located above the cloth supporting rest 4fulcrumed on rock shaft 4 which is provided with a rockerarm 4 that isinterconnected with the rocker arm 3 by means of a similar connectinglink 5 provided with an adjusting turn buckle 5 in accordance with wellknown practice.

Fast on the rock shaft l is an actuating spider comprising arms A i -and4 Pivotally attached to the arm 4 is a' link 'Iflwhich is connected withan adjusting anchoring screw I by means of a retractile spring 1 whichnormally .acts to restore and maintain the interconnected cloth restsin'their closed or operative relationward or from the shearing line toopen a space between the shearing elements sufficient to allow theseamed ends of the cloth to pass by without being cut by the shear.blades.

The opening of the shearing elements, in this case accomplished by themovement of the cloth rests away from the shear blades, is accomplishedby means of the link' bar 8, which is connected with the arm 9 on a rockshaft 9 extending transversely at the forward part of the machine. A

retractile spring 9 tends to move the bar 8 forwardly. Adjustablyclamped on the bar 8 by j means of the clamping bolt 8 is alatch-actuating member 8 which moving rearwardly with the rearwardlymoving link bar 8 acts first to release the latch 6 to allow the clothrests to move away from the shear blades to open position. The rear endof the link bar Bis provided with an elongated .slot through whichpasses a connecting bolt or stud 8 carried by the arm 4 which is secured.to the rock shaft 4 of the rear cloth rest. This stud 8 is located soas to be a short distance from the front end of the slot in link 8 whenthe cloth rests are in normal operative position so as to permit thelatch-actuating boss or member 8 to open the latch before the forwardwall of the slot begins to thrust against the stud 8 and swing the rockshaft inai counterclockwise direction to open the rests. When the restsare swung to open position, as indicated in Fig. 2, by this rearmovement of the link 8, a hardened plate 4* on the tip end of the arm 4is caught behind a similar plate 5| carried on the angle or bell cranklever 50, 58* mounted on the pivot 50*, this dog or bell crank'arm'beingnormally forced to its limit of movement in a clockwise direction by aspring. Therefore, when the link bar 8 moves to this rearward limit ofmovement under actuating means, presentlyto be described, the arm 4fastened to the rock shaft 4 is retained in that position, while theslot in the link bar allows the spring'iS to return the bar 8 to itsforward position without releasingthe cloth rest from open position.This release is accomplished by timing mechanism whose construction andoperation will later be explained.

The mechanism, particularly concerned in the automatic control to lettheseam pass the shear blades, comprises generally speaking agroup of partsat the forward end of the machine desig-' nated as I, which compriseessentially the feeler mechanism; a second group of parts designated asII in the drawings, which'forms the cloth rest opening mechanism; and athird group of parts designated as III at the rear of the machineconcontrol of the automatic opening mechanism,

which separates them from the shear blades, but it will be obvious thatsimilar mechanism might be used to actuate the pivotal frames whichcarry each pair of shear blades. 7 I The mechanism for opening theshearing elements, in this case the cloth rest elements, in-

cludesa link I!) which at its lower end is pivotally connected with arotatable arm I loosely supported .on a shaft II to which shaft issecured a continuously rotating sprocket wheel l3 driven by a sprocketchain l3 from a power or counter shaft B mounted in the rear portion ofthe frame A. The rocker arm M,'loose on the shaft II, is

actuated only when it is interconnected with the shaft ll throughtheagency of the seam-con-v trolled mechanism or group I. The connectionbetween this rocker arm l4 and the continuously rotating shaft H is bestshown in Fig. 1, Fig. 6 and Fig. 7; Mounted in a laterally extendingboss of the sprocket wheel 13 is a rotatable spindle 12 carrying at itsnear end a pinion l5 and at its farther end a pinion J2. Loose on theshaft H on the same side of the sprocket as pinion I5 is an intermeshingpinion Id which is compounded or fastened to the hub of the rocker armll, so that pinion I51 and rocker ann I4 constitutea single unit. Looseon the farther end ofthe continuously driven shaft II is a gear orpinion l8, with which is compounded or fastened integrally a ratchetwheel I! adapted to be engaged by a ratchet pawl I1, which is fast 75 Ion the spindle l9 that is normally rotated in a clockwise direction by atensioning spring l9 but-is held against the pull of the spring l9 by aprojecting finger or arm l9 which is normally engaged by aseam-controlled member presently to be described.

' "When.- the pawl IT is held out of engagement with the ratchet wheel Hthe shaft l2 to whose opposite ends are secured the pinions l5 and l2,revolves with the sprocket member l3 in a counterclockwise direction,the two planetary pinions I5 and i2 simply rolling around theircorresponding pinions 15 and I8. Inasmuch as the then stationary pinionl5 and pinion lfi have an equal number of teeth, say l5 teeth, andinasmuch as pinion I2 has only 12 teeth intermeshing with the largerpinion 18, having let us say l8 teeth, it is obvious that while thisplanetary movement of the spindle l2 takes place the pinion 18 will berotated more slowly than the sprocket and in reverse direction.

When, however, the ratchet pawl I1 is thrown into interlockingengagement with its ratchet wheel Il that is secured to the toothedpinion l8, then this compound element or ratchet-pinion is held againstrotation and the planetary movement of the small pinion I2 rollingaround the stationary pinion l8 will actually impart to pinion lfi asomewhat more rapid rotation than the rotation of the driving sprocketand in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the drivingsprocket, so that the rocker arm M fast to said pinion l5 will revolvein a clockwise direction acting through link Hi to rock the shaft 9* ina clockwise direction, thereby forcing the link 8 rearwardly releasingthe latch B and pushing the arm 2 until its book plate 4 engages therear shoulder of the plate 5! on the dog 50. The shearing elements arenow opened and after the pawl ll is released from its ratchet Il thelink arm 8 will be retracted forwardly to its normal position by thespring b It will therefore be seen that the power driven mechanism foropening or separating the shearing elements is energized for action bymeans of the pawl ll, which is normally kept out of its active oroperative position by a stop finger l8 on the shaft 19 which stop fingeris engaged and held out of action, as best shown in Fig. 3, by adownwardly extending arm 36 which is secured to the overhead rock shaft38 and which carries at its lower end an antifriction roller or bowl 36.As the rock shaft or spindle lfi is normally pulled in a clockwisedirection by the retractile spring l9 (Fig. 1) it is evident thatmovement of the roller 36 in a clockwise direction out of the path ofthe tip of the stop finger w will allow the pawl H to instantly engagethe ratchet i'l through which the opening of the shear mechanism iseffected, as above described.

One of the outstanding difficulties experienced with automaticseam-controlled shears is due to the fact that in previous automaticseam-controlled shear separating mechanism, such mechanism once startedin action necessarily continues through a definite cycle, such asefiected by the rotation of a controlling cam, at the end of which cyclethe shearing elements are reestablished in closed relation either byreturn of the cloth rest, or by the shear blade head, and no provisionis made to prevent the re-establishment of the closed relation in cases.knot, bunch or other excrescence on the cloth actuates the feelermechanism to energize the shear opening mechanism. ."Now, .it is acommon occurrence to find, here and there, scattered at random throughthe face of the cloth, bunches or excrescences which will act, through:the feeler mechanism, to energize the shear controlling mechanism. Ifsuch shear opening mechanism is energized by such a bunch near enough toa seam in the cloth that follows it, the seam will pass by the feelerwithout any otherresult than to move the feeler, since the shear openingmechanism is already in operation to perform its uninterrupted cycleunaffected by the "movement of the feeler at that stage. Consequently,for this reason it very frequently happens that the bladeraising orrest-moving mechanism allows the shearing elements to close to normalshearing position after the seam has passed the feeler and isapproaching the shearing line. The result is that the cloth is likely tobe badly cut at the seam and often. times the shearing blades will bebrokenwhen encountering this extra thickness the shear blades by suchoccurrences as above described, we have provided a construction andarrangement of feelermechanism for controlling the opening of theshearing elements comprising substantially a plurality of feeler fingersthat are laterally offset in spaced relation transversely to thetravelling cloth and so combined, or associated, that unless all of thefeeler fingers are actuated at practically the same time the feelermechanism will remain inactive so far as the energizing of the shearopening mechanism is concerned. Obviouslyany number of narrow fingersmay be arranged at intervals across the width of the travelling cloth,but in the present mechanism illustrated in the drawings the principleis properly illustrated by the use of three mutually related feelerfingers, whose arrangement and operation will now be described.

On the front of the machine frame A are provided two side brackets orframes 20, which form the support for round Crossbars or girts 2|, 22and 23, which serve as supports for the feeler mechanism. On girt 22 issecured an upwardly projecting arm or bracket 22 carrying aclothengaging idler roll 22 capable of very free rotation. On oppositesides and some distance away from this fixed bracket 22*, there issecured to the girt 22 a pair ofbrackets 24 having a rearwardly anddownwardly extending arm 24 and a downwardly and forwardly extending arm24' carrying a freely rotatable cloth-engaging roller 24.

The rearwardly and downwardly extending arms 24 of these two bracketscarry a slowly rotating spindle or shaft 25, which is rotated in acounterclockwise direction by means of a belt and pulley connectionbetween a small pulley i l .on the end of the sprocket driven spindle IIand a larger pulley 25 secured on the near end of the shaft 25, as shownin the plan view, Fig. 4. Fast on this spindle 25 is a ratchet 26 andadjacent to the ratchet, and loosely pivoted on the ratchet spindle 25,is a hub member having a forwardlyprojecting arm 21 and a rearwardly andupwardly projecting arm 28. Adjustably secured to the short arm 21 bymeans of screw and slot connection is a forwardly projecting narrowblade of sheet metal forming, in this case, a preliminary feeler fingerwhich normally overbalances the rearward arm 28, either by gravity or bylight spring tension not shown, so that the forward tip of the feelerfinger 2'! rests lightly upon the fixed crossbar 23, in front of whichthe cloth ac passes upward by the tip of the feeler finger 21 As bestshown in Fig. 5, the arm 28carries at its outer or rear end anantifriction roller or bowl and near its inner end carries a pawl 29adapted to drop into and engage the teeth of the ratchet 26. When a seamor other thickness, such as a knot or slub engages the tip of either ofthe preliminary fingers 21*, because this mechanism is duplicated onboth sides of the bracket 22, the angle arm construction embracing arms21 and 28 is rocked in a clockwise direction about the shaft or spindle25 that is slowly rotating in a counterclockwise direction. Thisclockwise rocking of the arm 28 moves its bowl clear of a finger 39 thatis mounted on the rock shaft or spindle 38, thus allowing the rockspindle 38 to rock in a clockwise direction.

As best understood from Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, intermediate of the twobrackets 24 on the girt 22 is secured a third bracket fast on the girt22 having a rearwardly extending arm 22 and an upwardly extending arm 22carrying afreely rotatable bowl 22 likewise engaging the rear face ofthe cloth some distance above or beyond the bowl 26 In this rearwardlyextending arm 22 is mounted a horizontal rock spindle 38, whose near endis supported by another bracket 22 secured to the girl: 22. Intermediateof the vertical planes of the two feeler fingers 24 is a similar finger36 secured to the rock spindle 38 and projecting forward to engage therear face of the cloth. This upper feeler finger 36 is adjustablyfastened to an arm 36 fast on the rock spindle 38 by a screw and slotconnection to permit the proper adjustment of its tip to the line oftravel of the cloth at. The feeler finger 36 is lightly pressed by aspring plunger 35 carried by the arm 22 against an adjustable stop screw34. The arm 36 has a downwardly extending arm 36 carrying at its lowerend the bowl 36, which, so long as it engages the finger IS on the rockshaft I9, prevents the movement of the pawl into engagement with theratchet Il whose arrest by the pawl, as previously explained, energizesor sets in action the rest operating arm I4 to open the cloth rest forthe passage of the seam.

Let us suppose that a relatively narrow slub or bunch on the cloth isapproaching from below the bar 23, which acts as a stop for the feelerfingers 21 and that such slub or knot is in line with one of thesefeeler fingers. It will therefore act to swing feeler finger 21 in aclockwise direction, thus moving arm 28 and bowl 28 out ofstop'engagement with an arm 39 attached to the rock shaft 38, leavingthe rock shaft free to rock in a clockwise direction. Such rockingaction'o-f the rock spindle 38 will be effected only when the upperfeeler finger 36 is engaged by a projection or excrescence, but if therelatively narrow slub or knot is in longitudinal alignment with one ofthe fingers 2'! it will be offset in relation to the vertical plane ofthe finger 36. Consequently it will not cause the feeler mechanism tofunction because, unless the finger 36 is swung upward and the rockshaft 38 rocked, the bowl 36 on arm 36 will not be cleared fromthedetent finger IQ of the rock shaft l9 which engages the pawl I! withthe ratchet. Furthermore, should a slub in alignment with the finger 36pass by both the transversely spaced rock arms 28 would nor- 7 mallyprevent the rocking of the rock spindle 38 and therefore the stop fingerI9 would not be cleared to allow the pawl II to act.

Obviously, therefore, a seam extending across the entire width of thecloth must actuate or tilt all the feeler fingers so that the bowls 28are moved clear of the stop arms 39 and the master feeler finger 36 willbe swung upward to rock the spindle 38 and release the bowl 36 from stopengagement with the finger |9 on the rock shaft l9 There are, however,severalrefinements of this feeler mechanism, the details of which wewill now explain. In sewing together numerous pieces of cloth end to endit frequently happens that some of the pieces to be cropped or finishedare much thicker than are other pieces and an arrangement or adjustmentof feeler fingers, that would be appropriate for'close contact with thethin pieces of the cloth without being actuated, might easily beactuated by a thick piece of cloth at points where there was no seam. Itwill be understood that it is customary and desirable to engagement ofthe passing seam with the feeler fingers, while at the same timeproviding compensation for different thicknesses of cloth to avoid theundesired actuation of the feeler fingers by the passage of a relativelythick piece of cloth, as above explained.

Since in the present form of our invention illustrated in the drawingswe have provided lower and upper ranks of feeler fingers for the purposeabove described, we use two of these compensating cloth guiding elementsone above the other which we will now describe.

Suspended from, and secured to the upper forward cross girt 2| is afixed bracket 2| which serves as a support for a swingable arm 30mounted on a pivotal center 30 and normally pressed in acounterclockwise direction by a light spring pressed plunger 30 againstan adjustable stop screw 3|! carried by the fixed member 2 l Somedistance below the pivotal center 3|! a freely rotatable clothcontacting or guiding bowl 32 is mounted in direct opposition to thebowl 22 mounted on the fixed arm 22 Below the center of the bowl 32 theswinging arm 30 has its rear face planed smooth to lie substantiallyparallel with the plane of the upward travelling cloth. 7

ports for the back face of the cloth. These lower swinging arms 3| arealso urged by spring plungers 3i toward the bowls 24, but such rearwardmovement is limited by the adjustable stop screws 3I.

The small girt 23, which forms a stop for the feeler fingers 21 alsoacts as a guide for the cloth approaching the feeler member. It willtherefore be seen that the front face of the cloth is lightly pressedtoward the rear non-yielding bowls 22 and 24 and that the shortstretches of cloth approaching the respective bowls are guided by theflat rear faces of the lower ends of each of these swinging arms.Suppose now a thin piece of cloth is passing through the feelermechanism followed by a thicker piece. This thin piece will pass betweeneach pair of opposed bowls being kept lightly pressed against the twonon-yielding bowls 22 and 24 by the compensating members pressingagainst the front face of the cloth. When the sewing or seam uniting athin piece with a relatively thick piece passes the lower feeler fingers21*, it will actuate that finger and the master finger above it and thefollowing thick stretch of cloth will act to move the bowls 32 and alsothe bowl 32 and their corresponding supporting arms slightly outward tocompensate for this extra thickness but still maintaining the cloth in aproper plane of travel for the next seam to engage and actuate thefeeler fingers when it passes through. It will therefore be seen that wehave provided cloth guiding means that maintains the cloth in a properplane of travel to permit the seams to engage the feeler fingers, whileat the same time yielding to compensate for extra thicknesses of clothwithout causing such extra thickness of itself to actuate the feelermechanism and so thin pieces of cloth are maintained in the appropriateplane to insure their seams engaging and actuating the respective feelerfingers.

Now it may sometimes happen that a seam, wrinkle or the like may producesufficient thickness to wedge the cloth against a feeler finger orfingers in such a way as to cause a jam, which the limited movement ofthe compensating members may not suffice to relieve, while at the sametime the master finger 36 is held by its rearwardly extending arm 39from yielding to permit the extra thickness or fold to pass by. Thiswill be of rare occurrence but provision is made for dealing with suchconditions by making a yielding joint or connection between the stop arm39 carried by the rock shaft 38 and the forwardly projecting feelerfinger 36 secured to saidrock shaft.

It will of course be understood, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings,that the stop arms 33 are vertically aligned with the arms 28 of thepreliminary feeler mechanism, While the feeler finger 36' istransversely offset in relation to the feeler fingers 2'! and the stoparms 39. Accordingly there is secured to the rock shaft 38 adjacent toeach stop arm 39 a short arm 31, that is pinned or keyed to the rockspindle 38, while the hub 33 which carries the stop arm 39, is loose onthe shaft 38, as shown in Fig. 5. To preserve normal operativerelationship between the feeler finger 36, which is fast on the spindle38, and the loosely mounted arm 39 carried by said spindle, there isprovided a retractile spring 3'! attached to the arm 3'! and to anunderneath projection from the arm 39, which serves to draw and hold thearm 39 against an adjustable stop screw 3'! carried by the arm 37. Thisarrangement permits the adjutment of the arm 39 to a proper angle inrelation to the feeler finger 36, while at the same time providing ayieldable joint that presents suflicient resistance to the flexing ofthe joint when an ordinary slub or knot passes by the tip of the feelerfinger 36, while at the same time acting to relieve a jam caused by anunusually thick wedging of the cloth that the yielding movement of thecompensating member 30 is unable to relieve.

Of course, it is barely possible that there may be knots or slubsoccurring at sufficiently close intervals across the cloth to actuateall the feeler fingers simultaneously and thus opening the shearingelements. Such an occurrence, however, is extremely unlikely,particularly if thev number of feeler fingers spaced transversely of thecloth be increased but even should such an unusual condition occur, noharm would result because it would'merely actuate the feeler mechanism.to temporarily open the shearing elements to let such slubs passthrough. Because of the yielding properties of the compensating clothguides, the small slubs and knots would not cause the actuation of thefeeler fingers, but if any are large enough to actuate the feelerfingers they must be so disposed over the face of the cloth to engageall the feeler fingers practically at'the same time.

In order to prevent too rapid return of the feeler fingers 21 and togive suflicient time for the seam to actuate master finger 33 before arm28 has returned to stop position, a pawl 29 on arm 28 rides over theslowly rotating ratchet 26 when the arm 28 is swung in a clockwisedirection to free the arm 38 by the return movement of the arm 23 andits attached feeler finger 21* is rendered very slow through theengagement of the pawl 28 with the slow moving ratchet. Only a verybrief interval elapses before the cloth passes from the preliminaryfeeler finger to the master finger anyway, but this ratchet and pawlarrangement positively insures retention of thearm 28 out of stopengagement with -arm 39 until the seam has passed beyond the masterfeeler 36.

Not only is it necessary to return theshearing elements to closedrelation to perform their function of cropping the face or faces of thecloth, but it is highlydesirable that the closing of the shearingelements should occur as soon as practicable after the seam has passedthe shearing line or, where there are several pairs of shearingelements, the shearing line of the last pair of such elements. It is theobject and function of the mechanism constituting group III of thecontrol mechanism to effect the closing of the shearing elements withina predetermined but variable'time, so that the shearing or croppingoperation may be promptly resumed after the passage of the seam.

As above explained the dog 50, 50 operates as a latch or detent to holdthe arm i in its retracted position to retain the cloth rests in openposition. The release of this latch or detent will permit the cloth restto move to closed position under the operation of the actuating spring Ior any other actuating means that may be employed for that purpose. a

At the rear of the machine is a transverse constantly rotating shaft Cdriven by sprocket chain C from the driving shaft B and on this shaft Cis a cloth feeding or traction roll, which revolves in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in, Fig. 1. The cloth passingaround a considerable portion of the periphery of this drum C is drawnthrough the machine back of the rear shearing line. On the end of thisshaft is a spiral or skew gear 60 which intermeshes with a similar gear6 I on a worm shaft 62 at right angles to the axis of the shaft 0. Theworm on this shaft engages a worm gear 63 to which is imparted a veryslow rotation as compared with the speed of rotation of the drum CSecurely fastened to the worm gear shaft 64 is a ratchet 55 and adjacentto said ratchet the shaft 64 carries a loose disc 66 on which arepivotally mounted, at centers equi-distant from the axis of the shaft, aseries of ratchetpawls 67. These ratchet pawls have their pointsyieldingly held in contact with the ratchet 65 by means of contractilesprings 68 connecting pairs of adjacent pawls, as illustrated in Fig. 8and Fig. 9. This loosely mounted pawl disc 66 is normally pulled in acounterclockwise direction by means of a contractile spring 68Compounded with, or integral with, the pawl disc '66 is a member in theform of a bell crank lever comprising the arms 55, 56. The right handarm 55 is provided with a pin 55 passing through a slot in the rear endof a link 51, whose forward end is pivotally attached to therest-actuating link 8 so that, when the link 8 is forced rearwardly bythe arm M to release the rest supporting latch 6 and drop the cloth rest4 away from the shear blades to open position, the bell crank'arm ispushed rearwardly in a clockwise direction.

Now the left hand arm 56 of this bell crank lever has a swivelconnection with a sleeve 54 through which passes a slidable link 53having adjustable stop nuts 52 on its forward end. The rear end of thislink 53 is pivotally connected with the outer end of latch arm 55*. Ahelical compression spring 58 surrounds the link 53 and is interposedbetween the sliding swivel sleeve 54 carried by arm 56 and a stop on thepivoted or rear end of the link 53.

The clockwise movement of the arm 56 causes the swivelled sleeve 54 toslide along the link rod 53 to compressthe spring against its rearwardstop on the link 53, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the latch 50, 5| isheld in firm latching engagement with the tip of the cloth rest arm M.This clockwise movement of the bell crank arm 55, 56 which compressesthe spring 58 is caused by the rearward push of the link 5! and reachessubstantially the same backward point on successive operations. As soonas the link 8 and the connected link 51 are free toreturn to normal orforward position by means of the spring 9, the bell crank arm 55, 56integral with the pawl carrying disc 66 will tend to return to initialor forward position, but on such return movement the member 55, 55 isretarded by means of the ratchet and pawl engagement with the slowlyrotating ratchet shaft 64 so that the return movement is normally slowerthan would be the return movement of the links 8, 51, which arepermitted to return to forward position in advance of the bell crank arm55 by reason of the lost motion or pin and slot connection 55 Now thereturn or forward movement of the arm 55 is utilized to unlatch the dog50 from the downward arm 4 projecting from the cloth rest rock shaft 4but this unlatching movement will not begin until the sleeve 54 abutsagainst the adjustable stop nut. Consequently, the time of this returnmovement, which is under the control of the slow moving ratchet and pawlconnection, is determined by the arc of movement of the arms 55, 56which may be varied by adjustment of the stop nut or thrust nut on thelink 53. There is provided then a simple adjustment by which theduration of the open period of the shearing elements is controlledbecause just as soon as the latch 50 is disengaged from the arm 4 theshear closing mechanism is free to act. It is a simple matter for theshear operator, when running through a strip of cloth, to adjust thistiming mechanism so that the shear elements will close promptly afterthe seam has passed through the last pair of shearing elements. Sincethe forward or return movement of the pawl arm 55 is free to start assoon as the link 51 and the link 8 start'to move forward from theirrearmost or restopening position, and since that return movement iscontrolled by a constantly rotating ratchet, the duration of theretention of the cloth rests in open position can be very accuratelycontrolled, since the closing mechanism starts with the completion ofthe opening movement. To avoid objectionable lost motion or back lash inthis ratchet action, we prefer to use a plurality of pawls and to locatethe tips or points of these pawls 6'! so that the diiTerent pawls willstand in different relation to the rear abutment face of each tooth ofthe ratchet, which lies in front of it. Suppose for example that eachratchet 'tooth measures one-eighth of an inch in a circumferentialdirection. Then, by circumferentially offsetting the pawls they may bepositioned so that when any individual pawl has its point firmlythrusting against the rear abutment of the tooth ahead of it the otherpawls will be separated by equal increments of spacing so as tosubdivide the circumferential length of the teeth into six parts, wheresix pawls are used, which would result in there being only a veryslight, if any, lost motion between the tooth that in any givenoperation actually engages its corresponding ratchet tooth. Furthermore,the use of this offset spacing of the pawls, so that only one individualpawl is actually working on each return movement of the cloth rests,serves to distribute the wear among the difierent pawls instead ofconcentrating it on a single pawl.

This control or checking of the return movement prevents the delivery ofa strong blow or shock upon the rest-retaining latch mechanism and asomewhat similar checking or restraining action may be employed toprevent shock when the cloth rests themselves are returned to closedposition, for it will be understood that the action of the clothrestreturning spring I would naturally operate as soon as the cloth restshifting arm i is released from the latch 50. Such return would tend tobe very rapid until the cloth rest reached its limit of closingmovement.

Referring now to the mechanism constituting group II, it will be seenthat the arm l4, operatively connected with the rest opening link 8, isprovided at its short end with a cam surface l4 dimensioned to engageand move forwardly the pawl M on the free end of the arm l9 attached tothe spindle I9 so that by the time the arm [4 has travelled to its finalrest-opening position, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the arm I9 has rockedthe spindle I 9 in a counterclockwise direction sufiiciently todisengage the pawl I! from the ratchet Il When the pawl I1 is thusdisengaged, the return movement of the arm I4 is permitted under thepull exerted by the return spring 9 until such time as the rear end ofthe slot in the link 8 engages the pin 8 carried by the arm 4 of thecloth rest spider. So long as the arm 4 is held in retracted position bythe latch 50, the complete return movement of the link 8, the arm 9 andthe arm I4 is prevented,

but on'the' release of the latch 50 the remainder of the return movementof parts I 4, -9 and 8 is permitted.

We have provided checking means in group II for preventing shock as toboth parts of this return movement of the cloth rests. Referringparticularly to Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, it will be seen that between thesprocket member l3 and the pinion l8 there ismounted on the hub of thepinion I8 a member It, which has a frictional engagement with theannular bearing face of the hub which supports it, but which can bemoved thereon independently of the pinion it, Mounted on a pin l 3 thatprojects laterally from the sprocket member is a pawl Hi jwhich isnormally drawn into contact with the teeth of the pinion ill by means ofa contractile spring l8 attached thereto and attached also to a pin 13likewise projecting from that face of the sprocket wheel. The pointertooth of this pawl, as indicated in Fig. 6,is formed to allow rotationof .the pinion E8 in a clockwise direction but to hold it againstrotation in a counterclockwise direction just as does pawl 11, engagingthe ratchet I1 but it differs from pawl I! in that pawl 18 is carried bythe constantly revolving sprocket wheel instead of being carried on anon-revolving rock shaft, as is the pawl I1. The arm l6, whose hubfrictionally surrounds the hub of the pinion l8, as above described, hasits outer end notched to form spaced teeth "5 H5 straddling the arbor 13that carries the pawl l8 so that these teeth permit a certain relativeoscillation or lost motion of the arm l6 until one or the other of theteeth i [6 engage against the pin or arbor I3 Now, as previouslyexplained, the arrest of the unit l1, l8 :against rotation will resultin a clockwise revolution of pinion I5 which is united with arm 14 toproduce rotation ofsaid'arm M in a clockwise direction to open theshearing elements, but if arm I4 is energized by the cloth rest returnmechanism to rotate in a counterclockwise direction similar to that ofthe sprocket l3, then the pinion l8, no longer being restrained by thepawl I'l, is-Lfree to rotate in the same direction as the sprocket wheelI3 but at a much more rapid speed if the cloth rest return means areexerting considerable force to rotate the arm M in a counterclockwisedirection. Therefore, if the pawl or latch l8 which is carried by, andtravels with, the sprocket element I3, is engaged with the pinion l8,the latter cannot revolve under the urgeof the arm I4 and theinterconnecting pinions any faster than does the sprocket element whichcarries the pawl, so that the sprocket and pawl connection acts as acheck to retard the return movement of the link 8 and of the cloth reststo'final closed position. The member I6 is employed for'the purpose ofdisengaging the dog or pawl Ill from the pinion l8 and is provided witha laterally projecting pin 16 for engaging the inner face of the pawl tothrow it outward when the arm M has completed its'return movement tonormal position, at which time the arm l4 ceases to accelerate rotationof the pinion H3 in the same direction as the rotation of the sprocket.At this position of the mechanism; the arm [4 acts as a stop or arresterfor the pinion l thus producing a slow counterclockwise directionmovement of the pinion l8. In this counterclockwise rotation of thepinion I8, the release member I6,

which is frictionally engaged therewith, tends'to participate in-thismovement until the toothlB thereof is stopped by engagement with the pin[3, but the pin lfi partaking of this clockwise rotation of the member16 with the pinion it? engages the inner face 'of the dog or pawl ic andholds it in outward or inactive position but, as the member it is onlyfrictionally engaged with the pinion iii, the engagement of its pin onthe front face of the disengaged pawl Hi will cause it to rotate withthe sprocket in such release relationship to the pawl lil It will remainin such relationship until the return movement of the arm Hi again tendsto cause the pinion Hi to overrun in the same direction of rotation thesprocket l3, thus permitting another engagement of the pawl with theratchet to function as above described.

It will of course be understood that the action of the pawl l8 and ofits control member I6 is not vital to the operation of the mechanism asan entirety, its real purpose being to prevent sudden shock or jar whichwould result from the quick unrestrained return of the cloth restactuating means, and using IE to hold out pawl to prevent its wear.

While in Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 we have shown the feeler fingersarranged in different planes to form the selective feeler mechanism, yetwe desire it to be understood that this tandem arrangement withpreliminary feelers'arranged in advance of the master feeler, is not theonly form of embodying this principle of selective feeler mechanism andtherefore we have shown in Figs. 10 to 13, inclusive, two modifiedconstructions and arrangement of feelers for accomplishing this sameresult of selective action which permits isolated knots or bunches topass by without causing separation of the shearing elements, whileinsuring action by the feeler mechanism to open the shearing elementsthrough contact with the transverse seam.

In the forms shown in Figs. 10 and 11 we have simply omittedv thepreliminary set of feeler fingers and provided in transverse axialalignment plural feeler fingers arranged at spaced intervals in acoaxial series transversely of the cloth, each unit being independentlymovable from the other feeler unit or units so as to permit anyindividual feeler unit to be moved by knots or bunches engaging itwithout energizing the shearing opening mechanism, unless all the feelerunits are simultaneously actuated which, as before explained, couldoccur only in the remote contingency that all the feeler units should besimultaneously'actuated by knots or bunches in linewith each of theentire series of feelers.

In this modified form shown in Figs. 1.0 and 11 we employ the clothengaging guide roller 232 mounted on an arm 22* carried by the'girt wealso provide rearwardlyextending arms 22 secured to said girt inposition to sup-port a rock shaftfifi which, as shown in Fig. 11, issubdivided into aligned sections. These rockshafts each carry a pair offeeler fingers 36 well spaced apart, whose forward or outerends' arepositioned to graze the rear face of the cloth :13. Should a knot orbunch of limited width engage either individual feeler finger of eachfeeler finger unit,.the

rock spindle 36 would be tilted to throw the downwardlyprojecting arm 3%forward out of engagement with the stop finger is secured on the rockspindle it whichcarries the energizing pawl IT. One or more similarunits of these feeler fingers are similarly mounted, sothat the actionof any feelerunit in the series in freeing its sub tending stop finger I9 would not result in allowing the spindle W to rock to pawl-engagingposition, because the companion feeler finger unit would not be actuatedto release its subtending arm I!) but would hold the rock shaft I SFagainst pawl actuating movement.

It will of course be understood that the yielding arm 30, carrying clothengaging roller 32 toward fixed roller 22 on the arm 22*, acts preciselyas previously described in reference to the preferred form. Such armsact through the swingable roller 32 'to'adjust themselves according. tothe thickness of the piece of cloth passing through, while retainingeither thick or thin pieces of cloth, as the case may be, in closeproximity to the adjacent feeler finger 36 to insure engagement of thefeeler by'aligned bunches on the cloth.

Fig. 12 shows a plan view of this cloth guiding means with a modifiedform of feeler finger. In this case, the feeler finger comprises a rearportion 12 provided with an upstanding lug l3 and having a forwardextension M provided with a forwardly projecting pin I5. On this pin ismounted a light sheet metal fork 16 notched to form spaced fingers 16and mounted on a rock shaft 36 to which it is secured, sothat theraising of the feeler finger rocks the shaft and frees the stop fingerI9 from the restraint of the down wardly depending arm 36 as previouslyexplained. A narrow knot or bunch approaching this form of feeler fingermight either pass between the two projections lt of the fork or it mightengage either one of them. In the former instance, the feeler fingerwould not be actuated at all. In the second case, the fork would berocked on the axis ,15 to yield and allow the nar row bunch topass bywithout raising the finger. The fork is normally kept in horizontalposition by means of a spring 1'! connecting its ofi-cen'ter portionwith the lug 13, so that the fork thereof,

permitted to rock axially when engaged on either prong, is restored tohorizontal position as soon as the knot has passed.

It will therefore be seen that in all forms of the feeler mechanism theaction is a selective one in that it allows knots or narrowprotuberances engaging the feeler to' pass by without completingactuation of the shear opening mechanism, while at the same time thefeeler mechanism is completely responsive to a seam that extends acrossthe width ofthe cloth. This principle of selective feeler is believed tobe entirely new in the art and is of great importancein preventing theopening of the shearingelements when they ought not to be opened. On theother hand, although the feeler mechanism is selective in its operation,yet when a seam does engage it the action of the feeler mechanism inopening the shearing elements is so rapid that the cloth may be safelyrun through the machine at high speed.

Moreover, since the closing of the shearing elements, after the seam haspassed the last shearing line, can be so accurately gauged as to effectshearing throughout the length of each the complete revolution of anactuating cam or disengage the energizing pawl l'l so that the linkconnections, that open the shear, are restored to position ready forinstant further service if need be. At the same time that the linkconnections open the cloth rests there is started inaction theadjustable timer mechanism which controls the return of the cloth reststo operative or closed position. 1 It is therefore possible to vary atwill the intervals between the'opening of the'cloth rest and the closingthereof and at no time is the opening mechanism not subject, to thecontrol of the feeler mechanism. Furthermore, since any actuatingmovement of the shear-opening mechanism occurring at any stage of theopen period of the shearing elements acts'to restore to initial orstarting position the member 56 of the timer that releases the latch forretaining the rest in open position, the normal duration of the openperiod may be repeatedly prolonged as often as the arm M of theoperating mechanism. is actuated through the medium of aseam or of anunusually large bunch or aggregation of bunches acting through afeeler'mecha'nism. Obviously, therefore, the movement of the restcontrolling mechanism maybe interrupted at any time to prolong the openstatus of the shearing element instead of operating as heretofore onlyon a fixed predetermined cycle of movement that cannot be suspended orinterrupted after once started. This feature of permitting interruptionsof the action of the means for controlling the relation of the shearingelements is believed to. bewholly novel in the art and is of very great,practical importance-in preventing injury to the cloth'and damage to theshearing blades, such as occurs with prior devices when a seam passesthe feeler mechanismshortly before the completion of the cycleof aseam-protecting mechanism that has already been started in oper-ation'by'a lump or bunch. on the cloth.

What We claim is: 1. In a .cloth shearing machine embracing separableshearing elements the combination with a feeler device movable throughcontact with a shifting the cloth finishing means to inoperative 7relationship, means for restoring the finishing means to operativerelationship and adjustable timing means for prolonging the duration ofsuch inoperative relationship by a'second actuation of said shiftingmeans in accordance with the ad-' justmentfof the timing means.

3. In a cloth shearing machine the combination with separable shearingelements, of seamenergized mechanism for momentarily opening theshearing elements'for the passage of a seam, said opening mechanismbeing immediately returned to position for another operation aftereffecting the opening of the shearing elements,

means for restoring said shearing elements to operative relationship ata predetermined but variable period following the opening of theshearing elements, said restoring means embracing a timing controlenergized by the opening mechanism of the shearing elements.

4. In a cloth shearing machine the combination with separable shearingelements, seamenergized means for opening said elements for the passagebetween them of a cloth-seam, timing means restorable to its initialposition at any time while the shearing means are open and thereby delaythe return of said shearing elements to closed position after apredetermined but variable interval, and means for retarding the returnof the shearing elements to closed position to prevent shock and jar.

5. In an automatic shearing machine embracing separable shearingelements, the combination with selective feeler mechanism renderedoperative by a passing seam while remaining inoperative by the passingof relatively narrow bunches on the cloth, of mechanism for opening theshearing elements for the passage of the seam, said mechanism beingenergized through action of the selective feeler means and beingimmediately returnable to position for further operation after theopening of the shearing elements, means for retaining the shearingelements in open position, and a timer mechanism for releasing saidretaining means after a predetermined but variable period to permitreturn of the shearing elements to operative relation.

6. In a cloth shearing machine embracing separable shearing elements,the combination of seamener'gized mechanism for opening the shearingelements, said mechanism being immediately returnable to position forfurther operation by a second energizing seam while the shearingelements remain open, timer controlled means 00- operatively associatedwith said opening mechanism to permit later return of the shearingelements to operative relationship, said timer being restorable toinitial starting position before permitting the return of the shearingelements to operative position by another actuating movement of theopening mechanism.-

7. In a cloth shearing machine embracing separable shearing elements,the combination of seam-energized shear-opening mechanism returnableimmediately after its actuating movement to position for another openingmovement While the shearing elements remain open, timer mechanismoperating after a predetermined period of movement topermit return ofthe shearingelements to operative relation, said timing mechanism beingreturnable to initial position before completing its normalpredetermined movement by an intervening seam induced actuation of theshear-opening mechanism.

8. Inacloth shearing machine embracing separable shearing elements, thecombination of mechanism for opening the shearing elements for thepassage of a seam, timer means for controlling the return of theshearing elements to operative relation after a predetermined movementof the timer from its starting posit-ion, and means operable by saidshear-opening mechanism for returning the timer toward its initialposition before the timer has completed its normal timing movement inorder to prolong the open period of the shearing elements.

9. In a shearing machine embracing. separable shearing elements, thecombination of cloth-energized mechanism for opening the shearingelements and timer means for keeping them open for a predetermined butvariable period before restoring them to closed relation, and meansoperable by the shear-opening mechanism for pro longing the movement ofthe timer to allow further time to permit the passage of a succession ofprotuberances on the cloth.

19. A feeler mechanism for controlling operation of a clothfinishing-machine embracing a plurality of feeler fingers arranged toform contact with protuberances on the cloth, the fingers being arrangedin spaced, laterally off-set relation transversely of the cloth, one 01'more of said fingers acting when not moved by engaging protnberances onthe cloth to prevent actuation of the feeler mechanism by another feelerfinger whose movement efiects control of the cloth finishing operation.

11. The combination with shear-opening mechanism of a cloth shearingmachine, of an associated energizing selective feeler mechanismembracing plural feeler fingers located in position to be moved byprotuberances on the cloth to energize said shear-opening mechanism,said fingers being laterally offset transversely of the cloth, andindependently movable by bunches on the cloth that come into engagementwith individual fingers, said fingers being interrelated to preventenergizing the shear-opening mechanism by movement of less than thewhole series of fingers.

12. A selective ieel'er mechanism for controlling mechanism for openingshearing elements of a cloth shearing machine embracing a plurality ofindependently movable ieeler fingers arranged in laterally ofisetrelation for engagement with, and movement by, protuberances on thecloth that are approaching in alignment with the respective fingers, oneor more of said fingers being arranged in advance of others, each ofsaid advance feelers acting when not moved by a protuberance on thecloth to prevent action of a rear feeler and through the inaction of therear feeler avoiding operation of the shear opening means.

13. A selective feeler mechanism for controlling mechanism for openingshearing elements of a cloth shearing machine embracing plural ieelerfingersv arranged in laterally offset spaced relation transversely ofthe cloth, one or more of them being arranged in advance of the other,each feeler being independently movable by engagement with an alignedprotuberance on the cloth passing by, the rearward feeler beingcorrelated with the shear opening'mechanism to control its action whenmoved to active position by engagement with a-protuberance on the cloth,but remaining inactive when the advance feeler or feelers arenotactuatedby a protuberance on the cloth. I

14-. A seam-actuated mechanism for a cloth shearing machine embracing aplurality of laterally spaced fingers each independently yieldable whenengaged by a protuberance on the passing cloth, said fingers beingcollectively yieldable when engaged by a seam extending across the Widthof the cloth, and a detent associated with J 5 one otsaid fingersreleasable only through the collective action of all the fingers topermit operation of seam-protecting means and thereby preventing injuryto the seamed ends of the cloth tuated through the medium of a seamapproaching the shearing elements to cause the action of theseam-pr0tecting means, and one or more associated feeler fingers thatare individually yieldable when engaged by relatively narrow projectionsof the travelling cloth and acting when not so engaged to preventoperation of said controller member.

16. A selective feeler mechanism for a cloth shearing machine embracingone or more fingers arranged to present plural spaced contact points forengagement with relatively narrow protuberances of the cloth, the fingerbeing mounted to permit either individual contact point to yield in thedirection of the travel of the cloth when it is engaged by aprotuberance of the passing cloth without actuating the finger, saidfinger being movable as a whole when all contact points aresimultaneously so engaged and acting by such movement to causeenergizing of seam-s-protecting means.

17. A seam-protecting means for a cloth shearing machine embracing aconstantly rotated driver, two pinions loosely related to said driverand arranged in coaxial alignment therewith, each pinion beingarrestable to cause rotation of the other in a direction opposite to therotation of the driver, one of said pinions being momentarily arrestedthrough the mediumof seamcontrolled means and the other being connectedwith means for operating a seam-protecting means to prevent injury tothe seam passing the shearing line and being immediately returnable torepeat position as soon as ithas actuated the seam-protecting means.

18. Seam-protecting means for a cloth shearing machine combined withseam-controlled mechanism for operating it which embraces a continuouslyrotating driver, pinions loosely and coaxially related to said driver,seam-controlled means for arresting the rotation of one of said pinionsand thereby cause reverse rotation of the other pinion in relation tothe rotation of the driver, such reversely rotated pinion acting tocause operation of the seam-protecting means and being immediatelyrestored to position in readiness for another seam-protection operationas soon as the seam-controlled pinion is released from arrest of itsmovement.

19. Mechanism for opening the shearing elements of a cloth shearingmachine toallow the passage of a seam without injury embracing twoloosely mounted interacting revoluble pinions, and a constantlyrotatable driver all in coaxial alignment, a seam-controlled member formomentarily arresting rotation of one pinion, thereby producing rotationof the other reverse to the rotation of the driver, means for openingthe shearing elements rendered active by the reverse rotation of thesecond pinion, said opening mechanism being returned to repeat positionupon the release of the seam-controlled pinion, and means for retardingthe return of the shear opening mechanism through the medium of theseamcontrolled pinion.

20. Mechanism for opening the shearing elements of a cloth shearingmachine to permit passage of a seam embracing two loosely mountedrevoluble pinions coaxially associated with a continuously rotatingdriver, seam-controlled means for momentarily arresting the rotation ofone pinion and thereby causing reverse rotation of the other pinionopposite to the driver rotation through an epicyclic gear elementintermeshing with the first-mentioned pinions, the said shear openingpinion being instantly returnable to po sition to repeat its operationas soon as it has opened the shearing elements.

21. The combination with seam-controlled mechanism for opening theshearing elements of a cloth shearing machine, said opening mechanismbeing immediately returnable to position to repeat after the completionof said opening, the shearing elements being retained in open'position apredetermined but variable period, and a timer mechanism forcontrollingthe return of the shearing elements to operative relation, said timermechanism embracing a member movable back to starting positionwhentheshearing elements are opened and movable forward to mleasing position toefiect closing of the shearing elements and being returnable to initialposition at any stage of its movement by another operation of the shearopening'mechanism.

22. Ina shearing machine having separable shearing elements, thecombination with seamenergized mechanism for opening the shearingelements for the passage of a seam, said seamenergized mechanism beingimmediately returnable to repeat its operation, means for retaining theshearing elements in open position for a predetermined time, a timedrelease member movable through a predetermined but variable are ofmovement to release said retaining means and permit the return of theshearing elements to closed relation, a continuously rotating ratchetfor controlling the release movement of said member while permittingsaid member to return to initial position at any stage of its movement.23. In a cloth feeler mechanism for the control of a cloth finishingmachine, the combination with a movable feeler of calibrating membersengaging opposite faces of the cloth passing between them, one of thembeing capable of limited yielding movement in proportion to thethickness of the body of the cloth passing between, the advance portionof the yielding calibrator being disposed opposite the feeler and in,

seam-engaging proximity thereto and being movable away 'from the feelerin accordance with the extra thickness of the cloth to allow such clothto pass through without actuating the feeler while keeping such advanceportion of the'cali brator sufiiciently near the feeler to insure en- Igagement and movement of the feeler by a cloth- 24. In a feelermechanism for controlling operation of a cloth finishing machine, thecombination with a seam-engaging feeler positioned/to be engaged andmoved by a seam in the cloth, calibrating members embracing a fixed axisroller engaging one face of the cloth beyond the feeler and on the sameside of the cloth, a pivotal bracket carrying a calibrating roller inoppo-' sition to said first-mentioned roller to press the body of thecloth, said bracket extending to a point opposite the feeler and beingswingable away from the feeler means for yieldingly retaining thebracket in proximity to the feeler to engage a cloth-seam with thefeeler to actuate it while at the same time permitting cloth of extrathickness to pass through without operating the feeler.

25. In a feeler mechanism for controlling action of a cloth shearingmachine or the like, the combination with a feeler finger arranged to beengaged and actuated by a seam across the cloth passing by, calibratingmeans engaging the interposed cloth travelling by the feeler to adjustitself to allow different thicknesses of cloth to pass by withoutoperating the feeler while insuring engagement of a seam with the feelerto effect operation of the feeler.

26. In a shearing operating control device for a cloth shearing machine,the combination of a detector arranged so that a portion of the clothabove normal thickness will swing the detector, means whereby theshearing of the cloth will be interrupted when the detector so swings,and. means whereby, if a second abnormal thickness of the cloth passes,before the complete cycle of the interruption is completed, the cycle ofinterruption will be prolonged.

CHARLES G. RICHARDSON. JOHN W. HOGUE.

